Pyramid Schemes by Peter David

Author:Peter David [David, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy
ISBN: 9780983687771
Amazon: B01I6X040S
Goodreads: 30979630
Publisher: Second Age, Incorporated
Published: 2016-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 11 A Bet’s a Bet

The days passed briskly and surprisingly amicably. Of particular interest to me was the bond that I was beginning to form with the Rama.

The truth was that, insofar as depraved dictators went, the Rama Lama was not really all that bad. Once I was able to carve myself past the arrogant exterior and the sense that everything he said or did was superior to whatever anyone else might say or do, I found that he was actually somewhat easy to talk to. Yes, granted, he was the ruler and did not hesitate to remind anyone within hearing distance of his rank. But once I managed to get beyond that, the Rama was not difficult to be around. He had little pretentions beyond that of the average young teen boy; even less, since he had no dreams of what he would do once he grew up. His life’s destiny was already determined by the circumstances of his birth.

It frankly irritated me that I found myself liking the boy. I had to ascribe it to the fact that I myself had never had any children, or at least certainly none that I knew of. So the entire business of father/son interaction was new to me. Many was the time that I had speculated as to what such a relationship would be akin to, and honestly I had never been able to come up with much of anything in terms of imagining it. Now that I was actually confronted with it, I had to admit that it was rather nice. Even pleasant.

Of course, all of that would very likely fly apart the moment I broached to the Rama the prospect of freeing the slaves. He would probably see it as a betrayal of the current relationship. But that could not be helped. I had both made a promise to the Shews and also been instructed to do so thanks to the burning shrubbery in the desert.

What I found interesting was that Mane seemed intent on watching all my interactions. He never once interfered. He was just always nearby somehow, keeping an eye on any time that I was with the Rama. I figured that he was simply being possessive of the boy. That he enjoyed being the main advisor and was not interested in seeing some stranger show up and insert his influence into the Rama’s daily interactions. I supposed on some level I could not blame him. I certainly knew how I would react if I was in his position insofar as the Rama was concerned.

Matters shifted abruptly one evening, however, when Mane came to my quarters with a sizable jug of wine in his hand. “We need to get to know each other,” Mane announced. Naturally I am always happy to get to know anyone bearing a jug of wine, and I graciously invited Mane to take a seat.

At this juncture the gathering for the wedding was a mere three days away. I was busy appraising all the ways that what I laughingly referred to as my plan could go horribly awry.

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